Past midnight
by Doc Lee
Summary: A little fix-it plot for 3x11 'Midnight City'. Felicity's guilt at an action takes her to an unfamiliar door.


Okay, first things first, this has MAJOR spoilers for season three, right up until 'Midnight City' and takes some cues from the promo for the next episode... So be warned

I REALLY liked most of what they did with Laurel in the episode. The fact they had her try and fail was good to see (was concerned TPTB would have her blow past this important step) ... BUT, I hated the whole plot of Laurel kicking up the deceit around Sara by not just faking her voice on the phone, but making an appearance as her. For me personally, it crossed the line and I hated how the team seemed so willing to help her do this.

So here's this, a fix it plot to... Well, fix it. It's not meant to be a Laurel basher, but she doesn't exactly come out smelling of roses...

Disclaimer - the people that own Arrow are the people that own Arrow... I am not one of those people.

* * *

'Miss Smoak?' Captain Quentin Lance was surprised to find the young woman on his doorstep in the middle of the night. The Mayor had sent him home in an attempt to keep her core staff rested before the tough days ahead, but the sight of a tear stained Felicity Smoak sat on the steps outside his home told him that rest was going to be the last thing he did.

'Captain,' Felicity jumped at his voice, her own clouded by the same tears that streamed down her face, 'Quentin...'

'He's dead, isn't he?' Lance crouched down before Felicity and frowned at the shame that seemed to be pouring out of the normally vibrant woman, 'what happened?'

Felicity glanced around her, letting out a heavy sighed, 'Can... Can we go inside?'

'Sure,' Lance held his hand out to help Felicity stand, his palm slipping to her back in a gesture of comfort when he followed her up the steps. Entering his home, Lance heard Felicity release a pain filled gasp and he turned to find her staring at the photo he had on the wall of his two daughters. The strange gut feeling he'd had both times he'd spoken to Sara in the last 24 hours returned with vengeance.

'Living room,' The gruff bark was not what Lance meant to use, but Felicity had squeaked and scurried into the room before he could re-open his mouth. Sighing, he dropped his keys in the bowl on the unit and entered his living room.

'I'm sorry,' Lance grimaced at the terrified expression on Felicity's face, 'It's been a long and trying few days. I shouldn't have...'

'No,' Felicity shook her head firmly, 'No. Don't apologise to me, please... Not when...'

'When what honey?' Lance had never quite gotten used to Felicity's boisterous nature, her ability to ramble into hilariously inappropriate twists becoming something he enjoyed listening to. The shift in the woman before him was shocking and the soul sucking pain in her voice terrified him.

'I don't know where to start,' Felicity swiped at her face, 'What I helped do... I hate myself right now and I... I'm so goddamn confused.'

'You've always done the right thing Felicity, even if it's not technically legal,' Lance reached out and squeezed her shoulder, a harsh sob bursting from her.

'Not this time,' Felicity sobbed, 'I helped someone do something so wrong that...'

'Who did you help?' Lance gently prodded, 'Was it Oliver?'

'Oliver's dead.'

Throughout his career, Lance had seen and heard all sorts of emotional pain. Sometimes it was loud, other times it was quiet, but the complete and utter devastation in the two word reply sent chills down his spine.

'What? When?'

'A few days ago,' Felicity's hands shook violently, Lance wrapping one of his over them, 'He...'

'Was it because he's the Arrow?' Lance dropped his secret when Felicity's voice trailed off, 'I realised that he was the only logical person during the attack on the city in the summer. Slade Wilson kidnaps his sister and kill's his mother, then goes after the Arrow. I'm just shocked that no one else has made the connection.'

'It wasn't Oliver that I helped do something completely reprehensible,' Felicity shuddered, 'It... Was Laurel.'

'Laurel?' Lance performed a classic double take, 'What did you do?'

'Laurel, myself and the rest of the team, have been lying to you,' Felicity took a deep breath and Lance could almost see her courage building to be able to say her next words, 'Sara... Died.'

Lance gasped, his hand shooting back to slam against his chest as his ribs seemed to squeeze the air from his lungs.

'Oh God!' Felicity jumped to her feet from the worn couch, her eyes wide as she searched around the room, 'Where are your pills? Shit... No, EMTs, I need to...'

'Stop,' Lance barked, Felicity freezing in the middle of the room to stare at the father as he stood, 'My heart isn't going to explode because you've confirmed what I've been suspecting for a few weeks now.'

'But...' Felicity's fragile control on her emotions faltered further when Lance gently took her hand and pulled her back to the couch, 'Laurel said...'

'She's convinced my heart is going to re-enact aliens if I even try to mow the back yard, which would have been true a few weeks back. My doctor had me on some experimental pills that have allowed my heart to strengthen.' Lance tried to hide his own pain at the true death of his youngest daughter from his voice, but the wobble of Felicity's chin told him he'd failed, 'What happened to my little girl?'

'Sara was murdered,' Felicity stuttered, her voice dropping to a timid tone that was the complete opposite of her usual speech, 'She... Was hit by... Three arrows. Black Arrows.'

'The... Force of the impacts...' Felicity sobbed, 'She fell. She was dead before she...'

Lance covered his mouth with a hand, his cheeks wet with tears.

'Laurel... Laurel had just left Sara on the rooftop and she...' Felicity stared at the photo of the two sisters on the mantelpiece, 'She saw Sara fall.'

'God...' Lance's pain increased threefold at the revelation of Laurel seeing Sara's death, 'so the phone call with Sara today and seeing her on the fire escape was...'

'Fire escape?' Felicity jolted, 'What fire escape?'

'I spoke to what I thought was Sara about an hour ago on the fire escape outside the precinct,' Lance frowned when Felicity's tears of sorrow turn to anger, 'Who was it?'

'The reprehensible thing I did earlier today was to create a program that...' Felicity winced, 'Enabled me to put a collection of audio files into it to mimic a person's voice. I helped Laurel pretend to be Sara to keep you in the dark because...'

'Because what?' Lance pushed, he could see the shame that Felicity had over her actions, but he needed to hear why she'd helped his daughter betray him in such a manner.

'I'm lost,' Felicity whispered, 'He's gone and I don't know how to... Breathe. Laurel came into the lair freaking out about how you were trying to speak to Sara and... She was shouting, begging, pleading for me to help her.'

'So I did,' Felicity admitted, humiliation flooding from her, 'I helped her do something utterly wrong to you. After the call I... Made sure she knew that I regretted helping her and that I wasn't going to do it again. I don't exactly know how she did the fire escape, I mean I think I know, but I'm not sure. She must have loaded...'

'Breathe Felicity, 'Lance reached out and took Felicity's hand gently, her fingers tightening around him hard, 'I'm not going to lie here, I'm extremely angry at you for what you've done.'

'I'm sorry Quentin,' Felicity sobbed.

'But you're here,' Lance gestured at his living room, 'Telling me all of this now and I can see just how upset you are over what you did. You are not a bad person, but you made the wrong decision to help my daughter with her lies.'

'I know...' Felicity shamefully nodded, 'I...'

'I forgive you.' Lance simply stated, his voice soft.

'Why?' Felicity couldn't understand why the father was forgiving her for her lies.

'Because you're grieving Oliver,' Lance watched more tears pour down the blonde's cheeks, 'People do stupid shit when grieving. After Moira Queen told me Sara was on the Gambit, I lost it. I crawled into a bottle and stayed there for a long, long time.'

'And if I wasn't in a bottle,' Lance grimaced, 'I was trying to re-enact my youth by sleeping with any woman that showed an interest. I destroyed my marriage and I let Laurel flounder in her own grief without a parent to keep her grounded.'

'You loved him, didn't you?' Lance felt his heart break at the single nod of her head.

'I never told him. The last thing he said was that he loved me and I never said it back!' Felicity descended into sobs, Lance opening his arm to allow her to take some measure of comfort.

'God,' Felicity eventually pulled back, her hands swiping at her face furiously, 'here I am giving you news that has already destroyed you once and you're comforting me through a breakdown.'

'Who killed my daughter?' Lance's quiet, pain filled question caused Felicity to stiffen, fear lancing across her face, 'You know who did it don't you?'

'We do, but...' Felicity heaved out a sigh, 'It's so goddamn complicated that I don't know how to tell you without messing things up further.'

'Just tell me, please.'

'Malcolm Merlyn had your daughter murdered,' Felicity slowly explained, 'He was part of the League of Assassins and he broke their code of honour when he set off the undertaking.'

'This meant he was being hunted by them constantly,' Felicity paused, the next part being the trickiest to explain, 'Because of Sara's relationship with Nyssa, Merlyn had her murdered in a convoluted plan to have Oliver fight and kill Nyssa's father, something that would have ended the blood feud Merlyn had with the league.'

'I don't understand,' Lance frowned, 'How did that bastard force Oliver into fighting Ra's?'

'Merlyn manipulated Thea Queen into joining him during the Miracuru attacks last year,' Felicity winced, 'Thea is Malcolm's daughter.'

'Holy shit,' Lance huffed, 'Is that the evidence that Laurel refused to reveal at Moira's trial?'

'It is,' Felicity nodded, 'We don't quite know how long he's been doing this, but he's been using a drug on her. I can't remember the name Oliver used, but it's a doozy. This stuff puts you under the control of anyone that tells you to do something, then it wipes the mind of all memories of your actions.'

Lance's shoulders dropped, the dots joining up in his head, 'Merlyn had Thea Queen kill Sara to force Oliver into fighting Nyssa's father.'

'Thea has absolutely no idea what happened,' Felicity's hands waved violently, her eyes full of fear, 'She's angry, she's hurt, but she's not a killer. Merlyn forced her into doing this against her control.'

'Does Laurel know this?' Lance sighed when Felicity shook her head, 'I suspected not.'

'She's vowed to kill the person that killed Sara,' Felicity winced at the flinch that shot through the father, 'She's traumatised and... We're scared she might actually go through with it if she finds out.'

'Does she know Oliver went to fight Ra's?' Lance sighed

'She knows he went and that he's ... dead,' Felicity's voice hitched, 'But... Not exactly why.'

'Then I'm going to be hypocritical and suggest you don't tell her exactly why.' Lance opened his mouth to speak further, but the sound of two phones going off stopped them.

'The glades have been cordoned off already,' Diggle's worried voice hit Felicity's ears as soon as she answered her phone, the fact that the usually calm man sounded worried sending Felicity's concerns skyrocketing.

'Already?' Felicity turned to see the angry glare from Lance, his voice low and hard on his phone, 'This isn't Lance John. He's here with me and... He's pissed.'

'Why are you...' Diggle let out a sigh, 'You didn't?'

'I had to John,' Felicity sniffled, 'It was wrong and you know it.'

'It was,' John admitted, 'But we had to make a choice and we had to make it immediately. How much did you tell him?'

'Everything,' Felicity heard the familiar sounds of Roy moving around beside Diggle, 'I told him about Oliver and Sara and why she was... He knows.'

'You should have called me Felicity,' Diggle sighed again, 'You shouldn't have had to do that alone, I would have come with you.'

'I know,' Felicity nodded, 'Lyla said Sara wasn't feeling very well and I didn't want to take her daddy away. Not unless I had to.

'John...' Roy's voice called in the background, 'We've gotta go man.'

'If you can get to the Lair,' Diggle quickly explained, 'we're putting the plan into operation now. We need you as our eyes up above.'

Felicity watched Lance snap his phone shut and boot a shoe across the room in annoyance, 'I'm on my way. Stay safe.'

'You too.'

'The goddamn Mayor decided to throw the cordon up early,' Lance scoffed, 'As a show of good faith to that bastard. We're trapped inside the Glades and help isn't coming.'

'Get me to Verdant,' Felicity wiped at her face and stood, her voice filling with confidence. 'And you'll have all the help I can muster.'

* * *

'The main group is just around the corner,' Felicity glanced at the empty case that held Oliver's Arrow Suit, 'Brickwell and his men are congregated about 200 metres in the middle of the street. I thought you hated wearing the suit?'

'I'm not wearing the suit Felicity?' Diggle's confused reply spun the blonde round to the empty case, Lance stepping away from where Lyla was entertaining Sara in the safety of the Lair.

'John... The suit's gone.' Felicity spun her chair round to stare at the glass case that held Oliver's Bow and Quiver, 'So's his bow. John, you didn't take them?'

'I'm dressed in black bullet resistant armour Felicity,' Diggle fired a few rounds of his rifle, 'Roy's in his Arsenal suit and Laurel is in her Canary gear. None of us are...'

'Felicity,' Roy's quiet voice cut in, the tone stopping the group dead, 'You need to see this.'

'My God...' Diggle gasped, 'It can't be?'

Felicity returned to her computer screens the all too familiar whistle of Arrows being fired sounding in her ear. Pulling up the news media feeds, she flinched at the sight she never expected to see ever again.

'Is that...?' Lance peered over her shoulder, Felicity slapping her hand over her mouth to stop the rising sob. The ability to reply was lost so she nodded slowly.

'DANIEL BRICKWELL!' The growl that Felicity had prayed to hear once more rang out over the media feed as it showed the growingly iconic image of the Green Arrow standing tall on a nearby rooftop, his bow raised and aimed towards the smirking gangster, 'YOU HAVE FAILED OUR CITY!'


End file.
